Brad Brownell has shown again and again a knack for the getting the best out of his seniors - maybe even better than they knew they had in themselves.

Over the first half of the current season, Booker has emerged from his brother's shadow and played his way onto the NBA's radar, while providing a consistently high level of play for the Tigers.

Now, Milton Jennings is showing signs of taking up his own leadership role, raising his game and repeatedly topping his own career bests.

The latest came Sunday, when the 6-9 senior from Summerville carried a double share of the load for the ailing Booker and finished with 28 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks in Clemson's 77-70 victory over Virginia Tech.

Brownell is hoping Jennings follows the pattern of previous seniors and concludes his career playing at a consistently high level.

"That's been the big question with Milt, really, since he's come to Clemson," Brownell said. "There have certainly been some very good signs. Against Virginia, he played very well and we had a nice win. Other nights he's either gotten into some foul trouble, maybe hasn't hit off to a good start and hasn't been able to bounce back and play the way that we all know he can at times.

"That's the big question. When he plays consistently well, he's very impressive. He can be a very good player in this league, and he's shown it at times. He's had trouble at times also being able to do it night in and night out. You certainly want that from guys of his age.

"He's a senior now, and a guy that's been through some battles for a couple of years. He needs to play with that kind of consistency to give our team the best chance to win."

Brownell said that throughout his career, Jennings has had difficulty in the dealing with the pressure of expectation.

"I think Milt has come to Clemson with a lot of expectations and gotten some criticism sometimes that maybe isn't always deserved." said Brownell. "Some people blame a lot of things on him. So I think he deals with more pressure than a lot of people."

Near the end of the Virginia Tech game on Sunday, Tanner Smith - who's currently playing professionally in Europe - tweeted his congratulations to Jennings, and added that "nobody cares any more than Milt."

Brownell agrees.

"Milt is an emotional kid, and he's a guy that really cares about our team and doing well," he said. "He works really hard every day at it, but there are days he gets down on himself. And there are days that things bother him and it probably certainly affects his play.

"He's just one of those guys that it's hard for him sometimes to just stay as even keel as you would like. So sometimes when that happens you can lose some things, perspective, and he struggles a little bit. Other times he's really good - not only this year, but in years past, that have been high level games. Double doubles against very good competition. Some of the best teams in our league.

"I think confidence is a part of all of that, and him dealing with the pressure and just feeling comfortable and confident with what he's doing."